Initiatives
Flipped Classroom
The EERC has worked extensively with the flipped classroom both within the SSoE as well as nationally as part of externally-funded research. The EERC provides both assessment services and flipped-classroom design consultation for those instructors interested in flipping a course or a portion of a course. To assess and evaluate flipped classrooms, the EERC assists with the development and administration of survey or interview protocols, observation of classrooms, content analysis of qualitative data, and statistical analysis of student performance data. The EERC has published numerous journal articles, book chapters, and conferences papers on the flipped classroom that others may reference for potential methodological and assessment approaches.
Internship
Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute (SCUPI)
The EERC is closely linked to the Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute (SCUPI) in Chengdu, China, a joint undergraduate engineering institute between Pitt and Sichuan University. Staff from the EERC visit SCUPI twice a year to observe classrooms, propagate and support the use of active learning there, and coach and advise SCUPI students in their future academic and career goals. Many SCUPI students are interested in transferring to the University of Pittsburgh in their junior or senior years to complete their degrees, and the EERC staff spend time with these students to answer their questions and inform them about the myriad of opportunities available at the University of Pittsburgh.
Propagation of Active Learning and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Through the 2018 Innovation in Education award, the EERC has been actively propagating the use of active learning and educational technology in the SSoE starting with two pilot SSoE departments. Closely associated with this is the propagation of engineering education research/publication and the generation of education-related proposals. This occurs though one-on-one coaching and mentoring of faculty interested in the use of active learning, publication of their results, and/or formal proposal of their active learning initiatives. The EERC is able to assist with securing of IRB approval for research. By also hosting active learning workshops with experts such as Mike Prince, the EERC promotes the use of active learning throughout the SSoE.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The EERC is actively involved in the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship in the SSoE, including through the various makerspaces in the School.
ABET
The EERC provides ongoing support to the SSoE’s ABET accreditation activities, in particular the collection and analysis of school-wide student survey data, primarily for indirect assessment purposes. Program-level data is collected, summarized, and distributed each semester and annually to the ten SSoE undergraduate programs for continuous improvement and inclusion within their ABET self-studies. The data collection instruments include the senior exit survey, freshmen through junior surveys, alumni survey, OMET survey (specific to ABET outcomes 1-7), co-op evaluation-of-students survey, and Design Expo judges’ rubric.